Monday, August 06, 2007

Thoughts on Gum

The other day, as I stood in the checkout line at Kroger, I was struck with thoughts about gum.

My preference is bubble over chewing. I know others who prefer chewing gum. While I find these people pompous, I recognize their right to choose.

As I surveyed the shelves, the way gums have changed became apparent.

Think about it......

First we have the Chewing Gums(CG's):

First group of CG's are The Old Timers. These would incude Blackjack, Beemans, Teaberry, and Clove. I still find an occasional pack of Beemans...and enjoy it. Hey, it is good enough for Chuck Yeager, good enough for me. Lots of respect for Chuck.

The next group are TEAM WRIGLEY. These include Spearmint, Doublemint, and my fav Juicyfruit. Juicyfruit was the closest thing to candy that gum at that time could get to. Also, let's throw Chicklets and Dentyne in here. Not sure if Wrigley made them....but I think they belong in this group.

Finally, we come to the NEW WAVE CHEWING GUMS. These start off with Big Red, but quickly head to gums like Winterfresh, Eclipse and Orbit. I am particularly bothered by the more recent entries. When I think of gum, I think of sticks. I think of long packages. (Chicklets excuded). But these are individually packaged mints. They are blurring the mint/gum line...and I don't like that.

Now we jump over the Bubble Gums (BG's, not to be confused with Maurice, Robin, Barry, and occasionally Andy). Instead of grouping them, let's just call them out.

Bazooka - Bazzoka Joe comics, that guy with the turtle neck pulled over his mouth. The gum was usually pretty darn hard.

Big League Chew - Gum that looks like chewing tobacco. Brilliant. While at it, consider bubble gum cigarettes and cigars.

Dubble Bubble - Always seem to get this one at Halloween. I did not like the white powdery substance on it.

Rain-Blo - Usually around during Easter. Held its taste for about 15 seconds. The kissing cousin to the 25 cent gumballs in machines.

Hubba-Bubba - Part of the hard core gum chewing movement in the early 80's. Cubes of dense bubble gum.

Bubblicious - See Hubba-Bubba.

Bubble Yum - See Bubblicious. Actually, this is my favorite from this bubble genre.

Baseball Card Gum - I have never seen gum so thin and brittle. When tapped against the table it would literally shatter.

Although I know I have missed a couple, I think this gets the point across.

Next time you enjoy a piece of gum, think of the heritage you are chewing. As they say, "Standing on the Shoulders of Giants". (BTW, if you check out the "giants" link let me know if the entry makes any sense at all. Goofy Wikipedia).